Method of deciding tournament winners

ABSTRACT

A system and method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants. The system includes a mechanism for selecting performance criterion against which individual results are judged; a mechanism for fixing a number of winners of the tournament; a mechanism for applying the criterion to each participant, thereby ranking the participants from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; and a mechanism for determining the top participants as the tournament winners. The highest-ranked participants at the end of the tournament are declared winners, as based on the participants&#39; performance. The method includes obtaining a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants; selecting performance criterion upon which individual results are based; fixing a number of winners of the tournament; applying the criterion to each player of the player pool, thereby ranking the player pool from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; and determining the top participants as the tournament winners. With the system and method, a significant fraction of winners for a tournament are provided, even when the number of tournament participants is large.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a means and method of conducting tournaments having an unlimited number of participants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,390 discloses a gaming system allowing for a tournament to be conducted by a plurality of tournament players, including online tournaments such as video poker, blackjack, keno, pachinko, etc. However the method of deciding tournament winners is not addressed, leaving the question of determining the ultimate tournament winners open.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,076,434 discloses a method of using a communication network so that a large number of users may simultaneously compete in a skill-based tournament. The method used involves grouping contestants into subsets and running subcompetitions within these subsets, iteratively, until a unique winner is determined after a short amount of time. However, the selection of a single winner from a large field of competitors stands as a barrier to entry insofar as potential participants are discouraged from competing due to the low probability of being the single winner from a large field.

Hence it is a long felt need to disclose a means and method for conducting tournaments having an unlimited number of participants, wherein winners are to be determined at fixed odds. It is a further long felt need to overcome the low odds in the players' favor in tournaments having an unlimited number of participants. It is yet another long felt need to overcome the limitation in the current art with regard to the determination of winners in tournaments having an unlimited number of participants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be implemented in practice, a plurality of embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 schematically presents a set of bettors 102 betting on one of three outcomes 101 and

FIG. 2 schematically presents an event with two outcomes 201, paying three-to-one to one bettor 202 and two-to-one to a second bettor 203, and

FIG. 3 schematically presents an event 301 with two outcomes paying two-to-one to half of the bettors, with 302 bettors who bet on outcome 1 and 303 bettors who bet on outcome 2.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to disclose a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, said system comprising: a means for selecting a performance criterion against which individual results are judged; a means for fixing a number k of winners of said tournament, such that k is a positive integer; a means for applying said criterion to each participant of said unlimited number of participants, thereby ranking said participants from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; a means for determining the top k participants as the tournament winners; wherein the highest-ranked k participants at the end of the tournament are declared winners, as based on the participants' performance, thus providing a significant fraction of winners for a tournament, even when the number of tournament participants is very large.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned performance of the above mentioned participants is related to a skill.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned skill is an acquired skill.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned performance of the above mentioned participants is a random function.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants additionally comprises a means for performing successive iterations of said tournament such that said initial unlimited number of participants may be divided into winning segments of size k_(i) at each iteration, where k_(i) is the number of winners in round i, and wherein further antes or bets may be optionally placed before each round, with appropriate payoffs at the end of each round, and optionally wherein players may choose whether or not to continue playing before the start of each round.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants additionally comprises a means for determining said positive integer k winners of said tournament as a predetermined fraction of the total number of participants.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned tournament relates to investors competing within a stock market.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants additionally comprises a means for online retrieval of stock details.

It is yet another object of the present invention to disclose a method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, comprising steps of: obtaining a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants; selecting a performance criterion upon which individual results are based; fixing a number k of winners of said tournament, where k is a positive integer; applying said criterion to each player of said player pool, thereby ranking said player pool from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; determining the top k participants as determined in step c. as the tournament winners; wherein the highest-ranked k participants at the end of the tournament are declared winners, as based on the participants' performance, thus providing a significant fraction of winners for a tournament, even when the number of tournament participants is very large.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the above mentioned tournament, in the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, is a game of chance.

It is within the scope of the present invention that the winning odds, in the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, are fixed.

It is within the scope of the present invention that performance, in the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, requires a skill.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of performing successive iterations of said tournament such that said initial unlimited number of participants may be divided into winning segments of size k_(i) at each iteration, where k_(i) is the number of winners in round i.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of a step of placing further antes or bets before each round, with appropriate payoffs at the end of each round, and optionally wherein players may choose whether or not to continue playing before the start of each round.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of advancing a fixed ante by said participants in order to participate in said tournament.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of a step of wagering a sum of a participant's choosing on the outcome of the tournament.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of a step of calculating the payoff of said wager as being proportional to the amount wagered and inversely proportional to the number of winners.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of step of determining said positive integer k winners of said tournament is determined by taking a predetermined fraction of the total number of participants.

It is within the scope of the present invention the above mentioned method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, additionally comprises a step of step of retrieving information selected from a group consisting of: sports results, stock market trading details, and world events.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is provided, alongside all chapters of the present invention, so as to enable any person skilled in the art to make use of said invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out this invention. Various modifications, however, will remain apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined specifically to provide a multi-tiered betting system.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will understand that such embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or invention. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Lastly, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “having”, and the like, as used in the present application, are intended to be synonymous.

The invention relates to a system of deciding tournament winners in arbitrarily large tournaments, with allowance for a sizeable fraction of winners from total participants. Generally speaking, tournaments involving games or contests of skill or luck are decided with a definite ranking for 1^(st), 2^(nd), 3^(rd) and possibly further places. Prizes are often bestowed upon the first such several places according to some appropriate method of division, while the remainder of the participants go home empty-handed. In this manner the probability of actually receiving a prize can become vanishingly small, as for example in state or national lotteries, where the chances of winning may be millions to one or worse. Likewise, in certain skill-based tournaments which host thousands of players, the chances of winning prize money are remote.

For example, the World Series of Poker currently involves some tens of thousands of players competing for a small number of cash prizes drawn from the entry fees. Specifically, in 2005 the top 560 players out of 23,000 participants won cash drawn from the entry fee of $2500. If there is even a small component of chance in the game, the large number of players dramatically reduces the probability of winning of even the best players. This is especially so since the large number of players precludes playing many hands against the same opponent, and therefore lucky hands will have a larger effect than in a smaller tournament. Thus many seasoned players will forego the negligible 2% chance of winning in light of the large entry fee. All large tournaments involving contests that include some component of chance suffer from the same problem. Examples include virtual stock tournaments, blackjack tournaments, and backgammon tournaments.

The invention comprises a system for determining tournament winners by eliminating some fixed fraction of the players and declaring the rest winners. For example, by pitting each participant against one other participant in a game of skill or chance, half the players will be eliminated, and the winning half are rewarded by some appropriate method, for instance by distributing the entry fees of all players to the winners. The ratio of winners to losers can be adjusted by adjusting the fraction of wins that a player needs to enter the ‘winners circle’; for instance, if one desired a tournament wherein ⅛ of the players are declared the ultimate winners, then one could require each player to play 3 games, eliminating only those winning all three games. Alternatively, if the contest is one wherein a ranking is immediately reached after a single iteration, such as a runner's marathon or a fantasy stock-exchange tournament, one may simply declare the top ⅛ places to be the tournament winners, granting them prizes accordingly, e.g. an 8× payoff. In either case the odds may be fixed before starting the tournament, eliminating the uncertainties of pari-mutuel systems while still allowing for high odds of winning. Furthermore any type of contest may be wagered on, be it the performance of a set of stocks, the performance of individual players in a tournament such as a poker tournament, Fantasy sports tournaments or any other conceivable contest of skill or chance involving more than one player.

In broad terms, the apparatus is comprised of the following elements: a playing venue, online or otherwise, in which players may congregate after optionally paying some ante or entry fee; a tournament decision system wherein provision is made for a betting channel in which half those wagering win, and in which the payoff is two to one; a betting channel in which one-third of those betting win, and in which the payoff is three to one, and further betting channels in which one/N of those betting win, and in which the payoff is N to one, possibly including non-integer values of N or values less than one, allowing for such situations as ⅔ of the bettors winning payoffs of three to two.

In broad terms, the method is comprised of the following steps: receipt of bets on the outcome of some defined event, be it online or otherwise, especially insofar as it may be a competition of skill or chance between individuals, groups, or other entities; and the placing bets on the outcomes of said events. Provision is made for bets having high likelihoods, for example a competition in which half those betting win, and in which the payoff is two to one; a betting channel in which one-third of those betting win, and in which the payoff is three to one, and further betting channels in which one/N of those betting win, and in which the payoff is N to one, possibly including non-integer values of N or values less than one, allowing for such situations as ⅔ of the bettors winning payoffs of three to two.

Multiplayer and massively multiplayer tournaments of games with chance components, such as poker tournaments, backgammon tournaments, stock picking tournaments, and the like all suffer from the problem that a single player's chance of winning become vanishingly small, even if he is the most skilled at a particular game. This is due to the increased likelihood of being eliminated due to an unlucky break, especially when one considers that larger tournaments are more likely to be single-elimination events in order not to require vast amounts of time to complete. If one were interested in tempting potential participants to buy into a particular game or contest, one way to do so would be to increase the odds in the players' favor. This could be done for instance by decreasing the number of players, which of course stands in direct contradiction to the venue's goal of getting as many players as possible to participate. Thus some alternative method for increasing the players' odds in tournaments of chance or skill is desired.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention a system and method is provided that determines tournament winners at fixed odds. The invention provides a tournament platform that allows for use of an event that is to be bet upon; provision for the carrying out or monitoring of this event; and a series of playing channels in which various odds of winning are fixed. These take the form of fixed-odds betting lines, for example providing a channel in which half those betting win, and in which the payoff is two to one or similar payoff, a channel in which one-third of those betting win, and in which the payoff is three to one or similar payoff, and further betting channels in which one/N of those betting win, and in which the payoff is N to one or similar, possibly including non-integer values of N or values less than one. As seen in FIG. 1, a set of bettors 102 each bet on one of three outcomes and receive a 3:1 payoff. More than one bettor may bet on each outcome, as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows an event 301 with two outcomes paying two-to-one to half of the bettors, with 302 bettors who bet on outcome 1 and 303 bettors who bet on outcome 2. Multiple bettors (in this case five) have bet on each outcome.

Additionally provision is made for betting lines in which different bettors receive different odds, allowing for betting on events where the outcome is a one-of-K event while the bet is at odds different than 1/K, as illustrated in FIG. 2. To illustrate the possibility of different odds for different bettors, FIG. 2 presents an event with two outcomes 201, paying three-to-one to one bettor 202 and two-to-one to a second bettor 203. In this case as well as the previous cases, the odds for the event may be fixed beforehand or during betting. Giving different odds for different outcomes allows for such situations as ⅔ of the bettors winning payoffs of three to two. For example, an event could be the performance of a group of stocks, each group chosen differently by each participant. Instead of allowing for only one winner of the tournament, this for example being the participant whose stocks perform the best at the end of some fixed interval, provision is made that the top k participants be declared winners. In this way, a significant fraction of participants may be declared winners, which may tend to attract more participants as opposed to a tournament wherein only one participant or the top small percentage will be declared winner(s).

It is within the core of the present invention that a method of deciding tournament winners be provided which has multiple channels, in each of which for some number N, one/N of those betting win, and in which the payoff is N to one, possibly including non-integer values of N or values less than one.

In one embodiment of the present invention, each bettor may receive a payoff in accordance with the amount bet and the number of declared winners. In this embodiment, the payoff for different bettors on a given event may be different, depending on the amounts bet by each bettor.

In another embodiment of the invention, successive iterations may be used to divide the starting pool of participants into winning segments of size 1/N at each iteration. For example, the entire may pool be divided in half at each iteration as in the common tournament system with quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, said system comprising: a. a means for selecting a performance criterion against which individual results are judged; b. a means for fixing a number k of winners of said tournament, such that k is a positive integer; c. a means for applying said criterion to each participant of said unlimited number of participants, thereby ranking said participants from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; d. a means for determining the top k participants as the tournament winners; wherein the highest-ranked k participants at the end of the tournament are declared winners, as based on the participants' performance, thus providing a significant fraction of winners for a tournament, even when the number of tournament participants is very large.
 2. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 1, wherein the performance of said participants is related to a skill.
 3. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 2, wherein said skill is an acquired skill.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the performance of said participants is a random function.
 5. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 1 additionally comprising a means for performing successive iterations of said tournament such that said initial unlimited number of participants may be divided into winning segments of size k_(i) at each iteration, where k_(i) is the number of winners in round i, and wherein further antes or bets may be optionally placed before each round, with appropriate payoffs at the end of each round, and optionally wherein players may choose whether or not to continue playing before the start of each round.
 6. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 1, additionally comprising a means for determining said positive integer k winners of said tournament as a predetermined fraction of the total number of participants.
 7. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 1, wherein said tournament relates to investors competing within a stock market.
 8. The system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 8, additionally comprising a means for online retrieval of stock details.
 9. A method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, comprising steps of: a. obtaining a system for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants; b. selecting a performance criterion upon which individual results are based; c. fixing a number k of winners of said tournament, where k is a positive integer; d. applying said criterion to each player of said player pool, thereby ranking said player pool from highest to lowest performer in one or more rounds; e. determining the top k participants as determined in step c. as the tournament winners; wherein the highest-ranked k participants at the end of the tournament are declared winners, as based on the participants' performance, thus providing a significant fraction of winners for a tournament, even when the number of tournament participants is very large.
 10. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, wherein said tournament is a game of chance.
 11. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, wherein the winning odds are fixed.
 12. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, wherein the performance in said tournament requires a skill.
 13. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants, according to claim 9, additionally comprising a step of performing successive iterations of said tournament such that said initial unlimited number of participants may be divided into winning segments of size k_(i) at each iteration, where k_(i) is the number of winners in round i.
 14. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, additionally comprising a step of placing further antes or bets before each round, with appropriate payoffs at the end of each round, and optionally wherein players may choose whether or not to continue playing before the start of each round.
 15. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, comprising an additional step of advancing a fixed ante by said participants in order to participate in said tournament.
 16. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, additionally comprising a step of wagering a sum of a participant's choosing on the outcome of the tournament.
 17. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 16, additionally comprising a step of calculating the payoff of said wager as being proportional to the amount wagered and inversely proportional to the number of winners.
 18. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, comprising an additional step of determining said positive integer k winners of said tournament is determined by taking a predetermined fraction of the total number of participants.
 19. The method for conducting a tournament having an unlimited number of participants according to claim 9, comprising an additional step of retrieving information selected from a group consisting of: sports results, stock market trading details, and world events. 